But Hunter was released on Monday after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date, his legal team have said.

The 76-year-old has already spent 19 months in custody so has already served the majority of his sentence, according to Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad.

Mr Polak, whose organisation is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend 10 months in custody for every year they are jailed.

Janice Hunter, 74, died of asphyxiation at the couple's retirement home near Paphos in December 2021.

Hunter, a former coal miner from Northumberland, admitted killing his wife but denied murder.

He told a Cyprus court she had blood cancer and "begged him" to take her life because she was in so much pain.

Hunter was cleared of murdering his wife but was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter earlier this month.

Speaking outside the court, Hunter said: "I would like to say thank you to all the people who donated to me and especially my mates, my workmates, I don't know where I'd be without them.

"I can't describe [how I am feeling]. I wish I could find words to describe it but I can't.

"When you're under that pressure for two years, wondering which way it was going to go, you don't know," he said.

Lesley Cawthorne - the daughter of David and Janice Hunter - told Sky News she had spoken to her father on FaceTime after the sentencing hearing.

She said she and her father were "elated, stunned and deeply, deeply grateful" following his release.

Mr Polak told Sky News that Hunter was "very pleased" to be released.

He said: "He was facing a murder charge which would have meant he would have died in prison in Cyprus.

"He's been in prison for some time, he's okay. He's looking forward to getting on with the grieving process, visiting Janice's grave."

Mr Polak said it was "a very tragic case", adding: "They were together for over 50 years, they were deeply in love. They were a perfect husband and wife. They met at a miners' dance and were inseparable since then."

"Janice was in a lot of pain and she was getting medical assistance. She was sick of the pain."

In an earlier statement, Mr Polak said "a case like this has never come before the courts of Cyprus before".

"We submitted extensive sentencing case law from across the common law world, from Australia to Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to assist the court in coming to a decision which was fair," he said.

"David would like to thank his legal team for their work, the experts who supported his case, and everyone from Cyprus, the United Kingdom, and around the world who has supported him," he added.

Hunter told his trial, which lasted more than a year, that his wife "cried and begged" him to end her life.

He broke down in tears as he said he would "never in a million years" have taken Mrs Hunter's life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became "hysterical".

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

His legal team had argued Hunter should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to "liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions".

The court heard it was Mrs Hunter's "wish" to die and that her husband "had only feelings of love for her".

The couple's daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, told Sky News after the conviction was handed down: "I'm incredibly relieved that it's manslaughter rather than murder.

"It's the best we could have hoped for in the circumstances."